That's what this girl's made of…

Month: January 2015

There was this one time that every meteorologist in Philadelphia predicted the storm of the century. Her name was Juno, and she was supposed to be a beast. And so we watched, and we waited, and we bought an outrageous amount of milk, bread, and eggs (as is tradition). It was briefly beautiful.The weather outside was frightful. But not REALLY that frightful. So I made my way to Flywheel, like a winner.

Lemme tell you what could happen when you DESTROY a Flywheel class: you MIGHT hit a PR (I know I did). Your heart rate will DEFINITELY be up. Your blood will almost certainly be pumping. And, if you’re lucky enough, you’ll feel like you belong at the top of the food chain.

I had to take a separate picture of the mac & cheese because it disappeared so fast

The cornbread, unfortunately, was too quickly consumed for my phone to take a photo. Sorry, folks. But it was delicious…

And then, the money shot:

MEAT’S ON!

Yup. A little bite of every beast you could want, savory sides, Texas toast. The hits seemingly kept coming, and by the end of the meal, the five of us were left with bellies teeming with protein (proteeming?) AND leftovers. All for $20 per person! Can’t be beat.

If you’re gunning for meat week you’ve got until January 30th (that’s TWO MORE NIGHTS!!) but here’s some pretty good scoop:

Percy Street’s Lockhart can be purchased ANY DAY OF THE YEAR! Sure, you miss out on mac & cheese and cornbread, but pretend you’re going low-carb and you’ll never miss them.

(You might miss the mac & cheese, but for $6 it could [and should] be yours.)

If you’ve got any other meaty meals in Philly that are must-tries PLEASE share. Because I’ve realized that the only thing I want after a hard workout is to remind myself of the Viking Woman Amazon Warrior within.

We can all agree on one thing (except those poor souls with gluten issues): Beer is a beautiful thing, and there’s nothing better than cracking one open at the end of a long day… except, of course, having said beautiful beer in hand as you sit down to a delicious meal, and enjoying the way flavors of the beer and the food complement each other. But pairing beer and food isn’t always easy, or even something that most of us know about, and while sometimes you may think that some pairings are “good enough”, there can always be better pairings that more trained tongues can distinguish. Always something to learn…

Lucky for everyone (except, again, the gluten-challenged), an app called Beer Match gives us all that we could possibly need. That’s right, just like it can now get you rides home or show you where the nearest public bathroom is, your phone can help you take taste to a whole new level and enjoy your beer in never-before-seen ways.

It doesn’t really come as a surprise, as we continue to use our phones in innovative ways every day. AlchemyBet, the proud owners of Pocket Fruity, have said that we now use our phones everywhere from in church to at school and at work, and we’ve all seen those brilliant souls who walk into the streets, eyes glazed over at their phones, nearly colliding with oncoming traffic (this is a real thing, I just watched the other day!). Luckily, with Beer Match, your phone isn’t just a distraction; it’s a powerful tool that helps you get the most out of your meal and the brew you choose to drink it with!

The way it works is you select a food from the list of over 500 foods already on the app, and the app then generates a list of beers – kinds of beer, not brands – that go well with your selection.

If you find yourself on the other end of the line, beer in hand and wondering “goodness, what should I eat with this auspicious ale?!”, you can use the app to find food that match the beer you have at home too. Major bonus: the fact that you don’t even need an internet connection to use it. Once you’ve downloaded it, all information is stored locally on your phone so you can look up great beer and food pairings no matter what pub, restaurant, or microbrewery you’re in. Even if it’s a secret sneaky restaurant underground… or you decide to have dinner in your basement.

Whatever floats your boat.

The app costs $0.99 on the iTunes App Store, and its developers have also made mobile apps for other pairings such as wine-and-food and wine-and-cheese. Really, an app for every palate and pairing.

When I visited the Great American Beer Festival a few years ago, I was impressed with lots of things. The hoards of bearded beer bros. The wonder of Denver. The tartness of sours. The bitter hops that can be packed into imperial double ULTIMATE IPAs!! But something else struck me… The line for the Dogfish Head stand. It seemed to span a mile! WHAT WERE THEY ALL WAITING FOR?!

See, though I’m just mad for the brews produced by Dogfish Head, I was born in Delaware. I grew up there, and though I migrated to Pennsylvania when I was 10, it was “Delaware County”, a stone’s throw from Wilmington. It’s no surprise, then, that DFH was never perceived to me as “rare” or “special” merely…. present. Ubiquitous, even. That said, I get it. If you’re someone who doesn’t have access to the tasty beers from the First State, they become something to seek out. Rare gems. And where better to pan for gems than the source? (That was my best try at a segue. Don’t hate me.)

Paradise

My dear buddy Claire came down right after the new year cracked so we could take a journey south to Milton to visit the brewery for the day. We were promptly greeted with tickets to the tour and four sample pours. I chose the four I hadn’t tried before, and we enjoyed a little pre-tour tasting

Working my way through the ranks

Beer’s better with buddies

Before I’d even started my fourth pour, it was time to tour!

And I have a confession….

The tour was (at least the portion we were on) dreadfully dull. I have a feeling it isn’t always this way, but we got shafted by a tour guide who somehow managed to make my absolute favorite topic boring, while periodically making me feel weirded out… Claire put it best, saying that Lars (our tour guide) left us feeling like his entire spiel was a long joke that never got the punchline, and never really taught us anything about what makes Dogfish Head special.

Not for lack of looking!

It’s okay. Their website can tell you plenty. All we knew was that, after about 30 minutes of saying what felt like nothing, we had to get outta there.

We left the tour early for greener pastures (after one last beer…)

One day I’ll get a new hat. but that day isn’t today.

Lucky for us, Dogfish Head’s Brewpub is in Rehoboth Beach, a mere 25 minutes away. So we hit the road for some eats and dranks.

Tapas, anyone?

Pickles, cheese, olives, and beer: What else could two gals ask for?

The beers were brewpub exclusives, Pennsylvania Tuxedo and Analog, and they were world-rocking. Claire had the higher ABV since I was driving, but we both made sure we didn’t leave empty bellied….

Oh baby.

We each got a porchetta sandwich with MORE PICKLES (quickly becoming something I seek out, don’t offer to dining partners! #growingup), arugula, roasted (or was it “blistered”) red peppers, and a rich aioli that I don’t even really remember beyond just stifled moans of enjoyment from both of us.

We both left proud members of the clean plate club, stoked that our DFH dreams came true, just a little distance away from where we thought they would.

I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for those off-centered ales, and with a setting like this outside…. well, I still recommend a visit!

Steampunk Treehouse, anyone?

It was still a solid day trip, and if you’ve got the time (especially in the summer) worth the trek!

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My name's Jordan, and I'm a 20-something Philly girl with a passion for good eats, group fitness, and, of course, craft beers. Fond of any of those three? Then you should be in good company, here.
If you'd like to email me, my address is foodsweatandbeers@gmail.com